52: Chapter 52 Existential Deletion!! Individual Soldier Design Failure

"Laya!"

Li Yuan's expression changed drastically, and he followed without hesitation. Elia and Chen Jingyi also instantly sensed something was wrong and immediately followed.

Their abnormal behavior caught the attention of some researchers who were in a state of ecstasy; the cheers and celebrations gradually died down, and everyone looked in confusion at the four young people rushing toward the monitoring equipment area.

Laya's speed was extremely fast; she rushed straight to a high-sensitivity detector used to capture micro-particle flow trajectories, located behind a Light Guardian.

This detector was shaped like a metallic mushroom composed of multi-faceted prisms. At this moment, the indicator lights on its surface were still flashing green normally according to the set program, appearing as if nothing was wrong.

Laya stopped in front of the detector and slowly reached out her right hand, reaching toward the equipment that seemed completely normal.

The next second—

A scene that shocked everyone who witnessed it occurred.

Laya's hand passed directly through the detector's casing without any resistance!

It wasn't an illusion! It wasn't optical camouflage! The detector still stood there quietly, its visual signal intact, and its indicator lights still flashing.

But when Laya's hand touched it, there was nothing there—no sense of touch, no temperature, no resistance, just like... reaching into a holographic projection!

"Ah—!"

Elia, following behind, couldn't help but let out a short cry of surprise, covering her mouth, her ice-blue eyes filled with disbelief.

Li Yuan dashed to Laya's side and, without any hesitation, also reached out to touch the detector.

The result was the same!

His hand also passed through without any resistance! He could even swing his arm back and forth through the part where the detector should have physically existed, feeling nothing at all! He then suddenly reached out to touch another piece of equipment nearby that monitored the energy spectrum—it was also penetrated!

"Their existence... has been erased!!!"

Laya's voice was like a clap of thunder, exploding in everyone's ears.

"Existence... erased?" a researcher murmured, repeating the words, the remnants of ecstasy still on his face, but his eyes were now filled with vacancy.

Professor Reinhardt, supported by Yimoku, staggered over. He tremblingly reached out his hand, which also passed through the detector.

He slowly withdrew his hand, looking around at the equipment that was visually "intact" but physically "extinct," and heavily pronounced the outcome:

"It's not energy dissipation... it's information overwriting at the level of rules... it's the erasure of existence..."

He closed his eyes and said dejectedly:

"We failed. The mini-mega particle rifle failed."

The grand blueprint of an individual unit against a capital ship had just had its most brilliant stroke drawn, only to collapse under this terrifying side effect.

The hot desert wind continued to blow tirelessly, kicking up fine sand that hit the casing of the temporary research lab, making a monotonous and irritating rustling sound.

In the distance, the massive rift stretching for dozens of kilometers silently spoke of the world-shattering power of the mini-mega particle rifle under the afterglow of the setting sun.

Closer by, the Existence Erasure Zone with a radius of about three hundred meters centered on the firing point was like a mockery branded onto reality. The bizarre contradiction between visual existence and physical nothingness caused a tremor in everyone present.

Failure.

This word weighed heavily on everyone's heart. The grand blueprint of an individual unit against a capital ship seemed to have been sentenced to death in the face of such a terrifying side effect.

However, this oppressive atmosphere did not last long.

"Recording Team! Immediately mark the influence boundaries, precise forms, and dimensional deficiencies of all 'existence-deficient' areas!"

Professor Augustus Reinhardt's voice, carrying a hint of heaviness but firm, broke the silence.

He pushed up his slightly crooked gold-rimmed glasses. Although the eyes behind the lenses were bloodshot, they burned with a sharp light as if discovering a new field.

"Theory Team! Dr. Wang! I need you to produce a preliminary mathematical model of the 'Existence Erasure' effect within three hours! Start with the observer effect! This phenomenon is somewhat similar to the conjectures in the 'Material Dimension Information Theory'."

"Equipment Team! Start all backup monitoring units and reconstruct the peripheral data collection network! We need as much environmental background data as possible!"

"Data Analysis Team! Immediately begin backtracking the readings of all sensors before and after the maximum power shot, looking for any abnormal fluctuations in energy or spatial parameters that might be related to 'Existence Erasure'!"

...

One command after another, like stones thrown into water, quickly stirred up ripples.

The decadence and confusion seemed to be quickly dispersed from these researchers in white coats by an invisible force. They rubbed their swollen temples, slapped their cheeks hard, and the helplessness in their eyes was rapidly replaced by a more focused, even somewhat fanatical, research-driven expression.

The "chirping" sound of data operations rang out, and complex energy flow lines and material models that would make one dizzy began to be reconstructed on the holographic projections. Intense discussions and arguments also began to echo in the temporary research lab.

Failure? Yes.

But for these people who dedicated their lives to exploring the unknown, failure was just the most common scenery on the path of scientific research.

They had no time for sentimentality or self-pity. The future of civilization and the blood and sacrifice on the front lines were like invisible whips, forcing them to immediately stand up from the ruins, wipe away the blood, and continue forward.

This resilience and rationality were the spiritual crystallization of human wisdom being able to survive and shine in the cruel universe.

Li Yuan, Laya, Elia, and Chen Jingyi stood at the entrance of the research lab, watching this scene that quickly became full of vitality, and their hearts were deeply touched.

"They... seem to be okay?" Elia said in a low voice, somewhat disbelievingly. She had expected to see a scene of gloom and doom.

"It's not that they're okay," Li Yuan shook his head. "Failure is so common on the road to success that it makes success shine so brightly."

He couldn't help but recall the endless debugging and troubleshooting when he used to import new controls, feeling a strange sense of resonance.

"Master, they are amazing," Laya whispered, leaning against Li Yuan's side, her eyes filled with a hint of admiration. Although she was still uneasy about the "Existence Erasure," the courage of these researchers to quickly adjust their state and face the unknown moved her.

Soon, new tasks were assigned. Since the 'existence' of many fixed devices in the core monitoring area had been completely wiped out, a large amount of critical background environmental data, energy attenuation data, and spatial self-repair rates needed to be manually re-measured on a large scale.

At this moment, Li Yuan's Light Guardians ushered in their highlight moment.